Improvement in paper-folding machines



2 Sheets'Sheet 1.

W. MENDHAM. PAPER FOLDING MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 1, 1870.

- W. MENDHAM. PAPER FOLDING MACHINE.

' '2 Sheets- Sheet 2-. I

" No. 99,336. 7 Patented Feb. 1, 1870.

fizrzeaaes j 2 %Q 7222992 07 v sired angle.

" is to prevent thin, soft, or wet paper from doubling down when not sufficiently rigid to bear UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

\V ILLIAM MENDHAM, ()F PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-FOLDING MACHINES.

Specification 'l'orm'ing part. of Letters Patent No. .)9,336. dated February 1, 1870; antedatcd- January 15, 1870.

vTo all'wlwm it may concern: I

Be it known hat I, WILLIAM MENDHAM, of the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented'c'crtain new and usefnl Improvements in Paper-Folding Machines;

and Ido hereby declare the followingto be a full and correctdescription of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in

whieh-- Figure I is a longitudinal section of the packin g trough having a reciprocating plunger.

1 Fig. 2is a similar section of the same,.showing a vibrating plunger.

Fig. 3 is a plan of the packing trou'gh shown in Fig. 1.. Fig. 4 is a plan of the packingtrough shown in Fig. 2. Fig; 5 is a perspective view of a folding-machinewith-my improvements applied. Fig. 6

.is atransverse vertical section of the first set of rollers, showing the shield and points in the position they occupy when the first knife is up.

The same part is marked by the same letter of reference wherever it'occnrs.

My-improvements consist, first, in devices I for preventing the sheet of paper, after it is fed over the upper of the first pair of rollers,

trough, the sheet being supported on its folded edge either in a vertical position or at any de- The object of this improvement the fall from the rollers to the trough, and also to hold the sheet improper position until the packing-plunger acts upon it.

To carry out in y first improvement I employ ashield, which, at the moment the forward edge of the sheet of paper reaches the level of the line of contact of the first pair of rollers, is brought in front of said line, and, in conjunction with the curved ends of the first pair of supporting-wires, bears the end of the sheet oii' from the rollers and allows the sheet to descend by gravity till it receives the blow of the lirstfolding-knii'e, andis carried in by its foldededge between the rollers.

For .my second improvement I make use of guides or recesses, either vertical or inclined, toreceive and support the edges of the sheet 'as it falls or slides down from the last pair of known as the Chambers patent, and its mode of operation is too familiarto need mi nute description. The sheets tobe folded are supported-on a table (not shown) attached to frame A, and which covers the upper part of v the 1n achinc. Motion being given to the operative parts by power applied to the main shaft B, the sheets are fed by the operator between the small roller G and the upper roller, H, of the first pair, H I. It passes over this roller and falls until its middle comes opposite the line of contact of rollers H and I. It then receives the blow of the first knife and passes by its folded edge betweensthe first pair of rollers and back on rods .1 J under the second knife, K. Thisforcesitin between the second pair of rollers, L L, whence, having received a second fold, it passes under knife M, and is driven between the last pair of rollers, N N, and, receiving its last fold, falls into the packing-trough Q, and is driven by plunger Vagainst the spring-slide U, which moves back to make room for the sheets as they successively'fallinto the box.

In the face of roller H grooves h h are out,

which receive the curved or hooked ends 1' of the supporting-wires J J in the man nor clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

O O are levers operated by a cam on shaft B. They are connected by. rods D D to the ends of the first folding-knife, F, attached to eccentric arms f, which move eccentrically on the shaft of the roller H. To these rods D D is attached the shield Esin the position shown in Fig. 5. When the levers O 0 rise the knife F rises to a position somewhat higher than that in which it is shown in Fig. 5, and the shield is in the position shown in Fig. 6, the knife being outside and the shield inside of the pendent sheet, for the sheet, in passing over the roller H, is borne off from the roller'by the curved points 17 or" the rodsJ J, and its end passes over the edge of the shield andis barred:

byit from passiugbetween the rollers; It falls 5}by its weight till its middle comes opposite the line of contact of the rollers, when the levers Q 0 are driven down and draw down the shield E and drive the knife llbetween rollers H I,

carrying the sheet through by its folded edge.

After passing the intermediate knives and roll- .ers, receiving snceessivefolds, the sheet passes- Ibet'ween the last pair, RN, and falls or slides into the packingtrough. As it leaves theserollers it is received between vertical guides P 3P, (see Fig 1,) which conduct it 'in front of a reciprocating plunger. R, connected by rod S 10 rock-shaft '1, by which it is operated;- This plunger packs a sheet at each'stroke' against .the sprin g-slide: U, which gradually recedes inthetrough as the number of packed sheets increases. c It' preferred, inclined guides W W may be used, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, with a vibrat ing'plunger, V, the. operation being substantially the same, theonly diflerence being that theLfell of the sheets is somewhat broken by' th'einclination of the surface along which theydescend to the packing-trough. The vibrating plunger is opera-ted by a rocking shaft, as shown. i I

Having thus fully described my iu'vention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1; The shield E, arrangedand operating as aud'for the purposedescribed.

2. The curved points 'i i, arranged for con-- joint operation with the shield E in the manner set forth.

3. The guides P P or W W, for conducting the folded sheet from the last pair of rollers to the packing-trough, as described.

The above specification-of my said invention signed and witnessed at Philadelphia this 9th day of June, A. D. 1869.-

-WILLIAM MENDHAM.

Wi tn esses WM. PRICE DAVIS,

TH. OER. DAMBORG. 

